Suspended files



June 1I, 1963 R. A. E. GUICHARD SUSPENDED FILES Filed Feb. 25, 1960United States Patent O 3,093,140 SUSPENDED FILES Raymond Arthur EugeneGuichard, 63 Rue de Rome, Paris, France Filed Feb. 25, 1960, Ser. No.10,993 Claims priority, application France Mar. 17, 1959 Claims. (Sl.12916.7)

This invention relates to suspended files of the type in which the upperportion of one wall or cover is supported by a transverse bar slidablymounted on rails yand :the upper portion of the other wall or cover iscarried by a hollow bar in the form of a U, and more particularly hasreference to means for securing the upper portion of said other wall orcover to the hollow bar.

Various proposals have been made for securing the upper port-ion of awall or cover of a suspended file to a hollow bar, but they all haveobjections.

An object of this invention is to provide means for securing the upperpor-tion of a wall or cover of a suspended file to a hollow bar ofinverted U `shape which avoids the objections to the prior art devices.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the upper portionof the wall or cover of a suspended le is folded outwardly over awedging strip which is` placed within the hollow bar of inverted U shapeand is supported therein so that a wedging action is exerted on thestrip clamping the wall or cover of the file between the wedging stripand the hollow bar.

Other objects will appear from the following description. -In order tofacilitate an understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic fragmentary end view of a filing systememploying suspended files in connected or accordion fashion.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of `a file embodying thefeatures of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a hollow bar of inverted Ushape, in which the upper portion of one of the covers ofthe file isattached by wedging action.

FIG. 4 is a similar view to that of FIG. 3 showing a modified form ofthe invention.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing another modified form of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of several disconnected individualfiles.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary penspeetive View, partially in section, of awedging strip employed in the present invention for cooperation with thehollow bar.

FIG. 8 is a similar view of a modified form of wedging strip.

FIG. 9 is another view similar to that of FIG. 7 showing still anothermodified form of wedging strip.

FIG. 10 is a View similar to that of FIG. 1 showin-g connected filesembodying the form of invention employing a wedging strip according toFIG. 9.

FIG. ll is a fragmentary perspective view of a file embodying thefeatures of FIG. 3 of the present invention.

The fiat bar 1 and the manner in which it is fixed on the file cover 3aremain outside the scope of the invention. FIGURE 2 shows that this barmay for example be slipped into a channel 3b formed by a folded-overpart 3 of the corresponding cover 3a, the folded-over part being fixedfor example by clips or staples 4. I-t may also be double, crown thecover and be fixed thereto by crimping. Hereinafter reference will bemade only to the means of fixing the le cover to the hollow bar 2.

In the simplest exemplified embodiment, shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a flatistrip 5 is engaged under the fold 6 of the 'cover 3c. `It can be fixedthereto for exice ample by gluing or by staples "(not shown), before orafter the edge of the cover has been folded obliquely. The width of -thestrip 5 is chosen to be such that the assembly 5, 6 can be introducedinto the bar 2 in the manner shown in FIGURE 3, the strip 5 and the fold6 then `corresponding practically to the diagonal of said bar, the edgesof the combination 5, 6 coming to bear with a certain pressure both onthe inner surface of lthe upper angle 7 and the inner surface of thelower angle 8 of the bar 2, in order to avoid undesired displacement ofthe bar on the file when -the latter is handled. In the example -shownLin FIGURE 3, the angle 8 is formed by one side 9 of the bar 2 beingfolded inwardly. yIt will be seen that such a bar can lthus be made froma thin strip of sheet metal simply folded rthree times.

As is shown in FIGURE 3, the slope of the foldedover part 6 breaks upthe load V exerted vertically by the file into two horizontal componentsC1 and C2 acting in opposite directions to each other, and this willensure that `the folded-over part 6 is very effectively wedged in thebar 2, the heavier the load the firmer said wedging effect, even if thetop of the strip 5, under the inuence of the load, no longer reaches theupper angle '7.

FIGURE 4 shows a modified embodiment which differs from that shown inFIGURE 3 only in that the con- -tinuous folded-over side 9 is herereplaced by a series of tongues 10, cut out from the bar 2 and foldedinwardly, either at an angle or perpendicularly to the side of this bar.rfhese tongues 10 may be of any desired width.

There is no objection to an inside rib :such as 10 being provided on theopposite Aside of the bar 2, to correspond to the upper edge of thewedging strip 5, thus increasing the surface of contact between thisstrip 5, the fold 6 and the bar 2, while at lthe same time reinforcingthe second side of the bar.

To give greater rigidity to the bar 2, as shown in FIG- URE 5, one ofits vertical sides may be folded over inwardly over a certain part ofits height, ais indicated at 11, the end of the fold being inclined, asshown at 12.

The characteristics of the assemblies shown in FIG- URES 3 -to 5 maynaturally ibe combined or interchanged in any way whatsoever, just asother variations remain possible without departing from the scope of theinvention.

FIGURE 7 represents the wedging strip in its simplest form.

According to FIGURE 8, this strip 5 may for example be curved asindicated. According to FIGURE 9, strip 5 may also be bent so as to havean obtuse angular cross section. This modification lends itselfparticularly well to very economical production according to which thestrip 5 will be made of stiff cardboard which is easy to bend to form afold or angle 15.

FIGURE 10 shows, by way of example, a continuous assembly of files usingthe wedging strip `5 such as is shown in FIGURE 9. In practice, theclamping effect obtained between the wedging strip 5, the fold 6 and thefront side of the bar 2, in the upper angle 7, is sufiicient to ensurerigid assembly even in the absence of any gluing or stapling of thestrip 5 tothe fold 6. Nevertheless, if it is considered useful, there isnothing against another fold 6a being formed on the lower free edge ofthe fold 6 by folding about 6b, in order to effect additional wedging inthe lower angle 8.

Hereinbefore reference has been made to the production of the wedgingstrip S from cardboard, but it is obvious that it can also be made ofany other suitable material, for example plastic material or metal.

Finally, it is not compulsory to use a hollow bar 2 of rectangular shapeas indicated. It could also be square, or of any other shape, vtheessential feature being `that it J can, on the one hand, crown'the. flatbar and, on the other olfer the wedging strip and the fold of the covertwo opposite angles or surfaces between which Athe desired wedgingeffect can be effected.

It will be appreciated that the method of joining the bar and the le asproposed according to the invention is of remarkable simplicity and veryeconomical, from `the point of view both of production and assembly.

What I claim is: f

1. A suspended file comprising a sheet folded Ito form a pair of coverswhich are adapted to be suspended from upper edges of the coversparallel to the fold, with the folded edge downward, to provide areceptacle between the covers of the folded sheet, a flat supporting barfixed to the upper edge of one cover, and a hollow supporting bar havingan inverted U-shaped cross section xed t the upper edge of Ithe othercover forming either a continuous or an accordion ling system or anindividual 1- ing system, the improvement comprising rst and secondspaced vertical anges and a web connecting said flanges at -their upperportions to form said hollow supporting bar, abutment means projectingfrom the inner portion of the first of said anges and spaced downwardlyfrom said web, said abutment means disposed substantially midway betweenthe web and the bottom edge of said iinst flange, said abutment meansextending substantially the entire length `of said first ange, a foldformed at the upper portion of said other cover and disposed within saidbar, and a wedging strip positioned within said fold and positionedsubstantially diagonally within the hollow bar with its lower edgebearing on said abutment means and with its upper edge bearing againstthe upper portion of said second ange with the upper portion of saidother cover wedged between the upperedge of the wedging strip and saidsecond ange whereby the fiat bar of the le or an adjacent file may bedisposed within lthe hollow supporting bar of the tile.

2. A suspended le according to claim 1, in which the lower edge of thefirst ange is bent upwardly and then inwardly obliquely to 'the flangefor forming said abutment means.

3. A suspended le according lto claim 1 in which the wedging strip is arectilinear cross section.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,224,998 Barker May 8, 1917 1,227,664 Rand May 29, 1917 2,530,821Hubbell Nov. 21, 1950 2,927,586 Holgate et al Mar. 8, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 909,786 France Jan. 7, 1946 54,112 France Feb. 10, 1947l(Addition to No. 900,778)

750,683 Great Britain June 20, 1956 190,701 Austria July 25, 1957784,023 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1957

1. A SUSPENDED FILE COMPRISING A SHEET FOLDED TO FORM A PAIR OF COVERSWHICH ARE ADAPTED TO BE SUSPENDED FROM UPPER EDGES OF THE COVERSPARALLEL TO THE FOLD, WITH THE FOLDED EDGE DOWNWARD, TO PROVIDE ARECEPTACLE BETWEEN THE COVERS OF THE FOLDED SHEET, A FLAT SUPPORTING BARFIXED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF ONE COVER, AND A HOLLOW SUPPORTING BAR HAVINGAN INVERTED U-SHAPED CROSS SECTION FIXED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF THE OTHERCOVER FORMING EITHER A CONTINUOUS OR AN ACCORDION FILING SYSTEM OR ANINDIVIDUAL FILING SYSTEM, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING FIRST AND SECONDSPACED VERTICAL FLANGES AND A WEB CONNECTING SAID FLANGES AT THEIR UPPERPORTIONS TO FORM SAID HOLLOW SUPPORTING BAR, ABUTMENT MEANS PROJECTINGFROM THE INNER PORTION OF THE FIRST OF SAID FLANGES AND SPACEDDOWNWARDLY FROM SAID WEB, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLYMIDWAY BE-